Alexander Glazunov was one of the most influential Russian composers and teachers of his time. Shunning modernism, he wrote in an attractive romantic idiom well into the twentieth century. His prodigious output includes the famous ballet The Seasons as well as nine symphonies. The Sixth Symphony dates from 1896, its dramatic outer movements and colourful scoring making it one of Glazunov’s most frequently performed works. Glazunov was a prolific composer of descriptive tone-poems. Among his early scores is the symphonic fantasy The Forest, depicting nymphs, the hunt, and the dark recesses of the forest at night.